In the nic of time
by Trini08
Summary: Castiel reaches Dean before he can torture a soul, before he can break the first seal. But now the demons will do anything to get him back.


**_My take on what life would have been like, if only Cas had made it to Dean sooner. What if Dean had never actually tortured a single soul?_**

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Dean took a step forward and glanced over the assortment of tools set out before him. There were knives, scalpels; pretty much anything that held an edge was on the tray. Along with pliers and other items that could cause intense pain. He smiled for the first time in forever, thinking that these demons must have learned something from humanity; if these were the weapons he was given. Some of these tools were in their primitive forms, more than likely created here when the first of the demons had been in hell. Some of them were in the more modern forms, forms he recognised instantly. He picked one up and looked at it, seeing it as something he might have used numerous times up on the surface to fix his car. He put that tool down and picked up another, seeing it as something he would have used when he used when he cooked for Sam when they were younger, almost like tongs to flip meat on a grill. He couldn't think of how these would be a torture item, unless he were to use them so as not to get his hands too dirty while pulling someones insides, out.

Reaching for one of the small knifes, he glanced up at the soul on the rack before him. She was young and pretty. Light brown hair fell to her shoulders in almost perfect, natural looking curls. Her eyes were sad and the looked to him, pleading for him to not do what he's been told to. Tears flowed freely out of them and she sobbed a little as he took a step towards her. He knew what this woman had done to be down here, Alastair had told him. She had sold her soul to be free of an abusive husband, but had left her two young sons behind. It had been part of her deal, the demon would only free her if she agreed and she had done so willingly. _She deserves to be down here._ Dean thought, as he spun the knife in his hand, taking a few more steps toward the woman. He knew that Alastair had picked this woman out of so many souls in hell to be his first for a reason. She had willingly left her children to a life of hell to save herself. Dean thought about his mother, and how she had left her sons to be raised on the road and on the run. How she left them to be raised by a father who cared less about them having normal childhoods than he did about finding the thing that had killed his wife. Alastair knew how this woman's choices would affect Dean, and Dean knew that was why she was chosen.

He had been surprised though, to be presented with this woman he didn't know. When Alastair had told him of the special surprise he had in mind for Dean's first souls and how he knew first hand of her sins, he figured it would have been Bela. She had only beaten him down here by a few months. But then he remembered her and what kind of person she was, and he figured she was probably off the rack within her first week in the Pit, gladly torturing other souls in order to save herself. He hadn't seen her in all his time down here, something he vaguely thought was strange. In all this time, he should have seen her or heard her once. Dean shrugged off the idea and went back to assessing the woman before him.

After thirty years of being tortured, Dean had relented to Alastair's suggestion and given in to his desire to be off the rack, his desire to be free from the pain. He knew the consequences of his decision, he knew that he would now have to torture souls to avoid being put back on. In the back of his mind, the metaphorical angel and demon on his shoulder fought back and forth over this decision. The "angel", the good part of him, or what was left of it anyway, told him that he should have just continued to accept the punishment he was being dealt for selling his soul in the first place. Sure he had save Sam, but he had known the consequences and he had asked to be put here anyway and the torture was his reward for that. The "demon", the bad part, was telling him that he had suffered enough back on earth for all those years and that he had the right to make others suffer for a change. Years of being "daddy's little soldier" and years of giving up what you want so that others can have what they want, including loosing your brother to "normal", was torture enough. Anyway, the souls here, they had all also been asked to be here and they all deserved the torture he would deal to them.

Dean stepped forward again, the knife in his hand ready to cut and slash at the woman before him. He was standing directly in front of her now and could hear her pleas. She begged him not to do it, begged him to leave her alone, said she was sorry for what she had done. Dean stood before her and watched, saying nothing in return. He listened to her pleas, could hear them but he didn't care. He smirked as she cried louder, her sobs echoing off the walls of the chamber they were in. He raised the knife, ready to slice across her neck when he was suddenly surrounded by a bright, white light. The light quickly gave way to darkness and nothingness. The next thing he was aware of was more darkness, but also a feeling that he had no idea where he was or what had happened to him. His mind was blank and the last thing he could remember was the hell hounds ripping and tearing at him like a piece of meat.

tbc...

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**_I know that alot of people think Bela would have been Dean's first, but I dont buy that. Given the same option, I think she would have been torturing souls long before Dean was ever dragged to hell. I mean, there were at least a few weeks or so between her dying and Dean dying, so that probably makes at least a few years or so down in the pit before Dean got there. Any way, I hope you liked. Next up, we meet our dashing angel in shinning armor...._**


End file.
